Friday, June 29, 2012

I feel like I would be doing a disservice to myself and all of you dear readers if I didn't use this weekly random rant space before the Linkapalooza to inform you of how awesome Lay's kettle-cooked potato chips are. I can't get enough of them. The original ones are banging, the BBQ ones are banging, the cheddar ones are banging, and even the reduced fat ones that don't have the same saltiness are banging. I have to force myself to stop eating them when I'm watching TV sometimes, like during the NBA Draft last night, because I can eat an entire bag and not even realize it. Do yourself a favor and try some of those, because they are good shit. Now onto the links!

- On Tuesday, Jamie Insalaco of Bomber Banter looked at what the Yankees are missing from their roster right now. And that was BEFORE almost half their rotation went on the DL. Like Jamie, I don't see much of these issues being addressed before the trade deadline.

- Steve Goldman of Pinstriped Bible commented on the lack of praise that Robinson Cano receives and why his numbers are worthy of more praise. It's worth nothing that Steve Goldman has packed up Pinstriped Bible and teamed it up with the folks at Pinstripe Alley.

For the Friday Jam, I'm going with "Tres Brujas" by The Sword. I could have seen The Sword and Kyuss last December at a little concert hall in Milwaukee. I don't remember why I didn't. Between the lack of memory, talk of potato chips, and The Sword, it's getitng real stoner-y on AB4AR right now. Oh well.

Adam Warren will make his Major League debut tonight, and he's got some big shoes (and pants) to fill in CC Sabathia's rotation spot. He's the 3rd of the previously-vaunted 5-man Triple-A staff to make an appearance in the show this year, and it wouldn't be unfair to say that his opportunity is the best one out of the 3. With Sabathia on the shelf for a few weeks and Andy for a few months, Warren has a real chance to become a fixture in the rotation for the foreseeable future. I had Warren ranked as my #7 prospect in the Yankee system in the inaugural AB4AR Top 30 Prospects list last December, but with a lot of time passing since then, it's probably good to reacquaint ourselves with him.

Rafael Soriano didn't look very sharp in closing out Wednesday's win, and with good reason since it was his 4th appearance in 5 days. He was not available last night to pitch the 9th, and it really cost the Yankees as the "closer by committee" crew gave up a late lead and snatched defeat from the jaws of victory to break the Yankees' winning streak. Ivan Nova was good, not great, and the offense didn't do a whole lot to provide a huge margin for error, but it was still a game the Yanks should have, could have, and would have won if their relievers remembered the ABC rule.

Game Notes:

- The teams traded 0s through 4 innings, with White Sox starter Dylan Axelrod having the easier time overall. Nova put at least one runner on in every inning, and didn't get a lot of groundballs, but managed to work out of trouble every time.

- The Yanks loaded the bases against Axelrod in the 4th on an Alex Rodriguez leadoff double and 2 walks, but couldn't come up with a big 2-out hit as Eric Chavez grounded out to end the inning.

- Nova's biggest mistake in his 7+ innings of work was the 2-1 fastball he left belt high and over the plate to Alejandro De Aza in the top of the 5th. De Aza hit it into the 2nd deck in right for a 1-0 Chicago lead.

- Like The Empire, the Yankee offense struck back in the bottom half of the inning, and did it all with 2 outs. Curtis Granderson singled, and Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano followed up with back-to-back RBI doubles to make it 2-1 Yanks.

- The 2-out runs continued in the bottom of the 8th when Mark Teixeira drove a HR to left to make it 3-1.

- Joe mixed and matched with Boone Logan and Cody Eppley to get through the 8th after Nova was removed, but it all fell apart in the 9th. Alex Rios singled off of Eppley to start the inning, bringing Clay Rapada in to face the lefty A.J. Pierzynski. He got the double play groundball he wanted, but threw the ball into center field to put runners on the corners.

- Joe went to D-Rob to put out the fire, and instead D-Rob threw gas on it, grooving a 1-0 fastball that Dayan Viciedo crushed for what turned out to be a game-winning 3-run HR. You can question Joe's decision to not just go with Robertson to start the inning if you want, but the bottom line is that nobody got the job done in the 9th and the Yankees lost because of it.